A quick question for all you LEO’s out there.  I am posting a question for my brother who is an officer for a local department in Indiana.  He is thinking about getting his first AR, and has been shopping around.  I told him that there are a lot of great deals out there for LEO’s, that all of us regular folk, don’t have access to.  Cheep mags, cheep guns, etc. His question is, and I don’t know the answer, what type of proof is required / type of requirements are there to purchase an LEO rifle.  Thanks any info you can provide.  

He will have to have a letter signed by a ranking supervisor that is authorized by the dept. to ok such a purchase. This letter must state that the purchase is for a certified officer and for duty use only and not for personal use and will not be resold. It must also state that the officer has not been convicted of a domestic violence charge or under indictment for one. He/she  may have to use the wording of the specific manufacturer in this letter. This letter must be on a LETTERHEAD of the Dept..I am not sure about other states but in Colorado that is all that is needed (no yellow 1173 form). The officer and supervisor must sign this letter certifying it.  The firearm can be shipped to the Department's address.

It depends on what you call "Cheap". If you are willing to shell out cash to purchase a gun that is restricted to on duty use by your dept, (Don't EVER take the thing prairie dog hunting!) and which you may have to give up at your dept's whim without compensation, than it's probably ok. For us, the dept will approve AR's, but only certain brands/configurations. Carried in a certain kind of hard case, after training, only with dept approved ammo in 20 rd magazines. All this at officer expense. To me, I don't think it's worth saving 42$. (The price difference locally between a LE-only and regular post ban Bushmaster.) I'd like to point out the post bans are allowed and has only the training and ammo requirement.  As far as mags go, for some of the more exotic whiz bangs out there, it might be worthwhile.  However, since I carry a Beretta (on duty) or a Colt Commander (off duty) I don't have to go that route for mags.  

I'm with Johninaustin on this. I refuse to spend my money on something that my Dept. can declare no longer authorized and take it away from me. If they want me to have it they will issue it to me. If they authorize it and I feel the need, I will buy it. That includes hi cap mags if we ever switch to a hi cap pistol.

This is something else he may want to think about. This came from the ATF web site.

O9) May law enforcement officers keep their semiautomatic assault weapons and large capacity ammunition feeding devices when they retire or leave their employment with a law enforcement agency? [Back]

No. They may not lawfully keep semiautomatic assault weapons and large capacity ammunition feeding devices that they purchased or acquired as their own property. However, the law provides an exception for items that belong to a law enforcement agency and are transferred by the agency to an officer upon the officer's retirement from, or termination of his or her employment with, the agency. Neither this exception nor the exception for official use permits officers to retain their own weapons or feeding devices after retiring or leaving the agency or to acquire additional items. Officers who retire or leave their employment with a law enforcement agency should transfer assault weapons and large capacity ammunition feeding devices that are their own property to a Federal firearms licensee or another qualified officer. [18 U. S. C. 922( v)( 4), (w)( 3)]

What Johninaustin sez is gospel....
the guidelines for "LEO Only" purchases, just to save a couple of bucks, is NOT worth it.
That's precisly why I went with a standard
purchase.

To avoid all this crap, you're probably better off just getting your own.  Go fixed stock and permanently attach the flas.....oops I mean muzzle brake.

I've got a stripped lower from Bushmaster I'm going to put together over the winter, then I'm going to get a Bushmaster flat top upper with 16" bl, pin on (or weld on or whatever you have to do nowadays) a flash hider/muzzle brake, put a Reflex II w 12.5 moa triangle reticule sight, and hit the road.  With the blessing of my sheriff of course.

Hey guys, thanks for all the great feedback.  I have put two AR’s together for myself, and am aware of all the restrictions on us civilian folk, but I didn’t realize there were so many restrictions on LEO weapons.  I’m glad I asked before pointing my brother in the wrong direction.  With the way prices are right now, it might not be a bad idea to help him find a nice pre-ban receiver and build one up from there.  Anyway, thanks again for all the inside information.  I really appreciate it.

As most said do your self a favor and buy a civilian model. I had a LEO only Colt AR-15 and since I will be retiring in a few years I sold it to another officer and just bought a civlilan model Oly. Much safer so I know I don't have to worry about selling it when I retire. Good luck.